PETA Bets Jennifer Lawrence Will End Up Supporting Animal Rights

April 11, 2012 (7:04 am) GMT

The animal rights organization has earlier slammed the Katniss Everdeen of 'The Hunger Games' for making light her experience in skinning a squirrel for 'Winter's Bone'.

PETA isn't going to wage war against Jennifer Lawrence any further. Hours after attacking the 21-year-old for making light her squirrel-skinning scene in "Winter's Bone", the animal rights organization's president Ingrid Newkirk said that the group believes she will eventually join forces with them.

On Tuesday, April 10 afternoon, Newkirk told Gossip Cop that her previous statement "was just a throw-away remark." She added, "We have our bet on Jennifer ending up joining the ranks of other young celebrities like Natalie Portman, Lea Michele, and Kellan Lutz who are using their influence to help animals."

Lawrence received harsh backlash from PETA after she openly talked about her experience of skinning a squirrel for "Bone". In an interview with Rolling Stone, the Katniss Everdeen of "The Hunger Games" assured that the squirrel scene wasn't fake as saying, "I should say it wasn't real, for PETA. But screw PETA."

Not taking Lawrence's joke too kindly, Newkirk fired back at the Oscar nominee on Tuesday morning. "She's young and the plight of animals somehow hasn't yet touched her heart," the activist said in a statement to The Gothamist. "As Henry David Thoreau said, 'The squirrel you kill in jest, dies in earnest.' "

Newkirk continued on to say, "We are told that this squirrel was hit by a car, but when people kill animals, it is the animals who are 'screwed,' not PETA, and one day I hope she will try to make up for any pain she might cause any animal who did nothing but try to eke out a humble existence in nature."